Numerous lives of the Buddha have been written and translated, but this volume, with its comprehensive material and original method of presentation, may well claim a place of its own. Composed entirely from texts of the Pali Canon, the oldest authentic record, it portrays an image of the Buddha-the great Master of Wisdom and Compassion-which is vivid, warm; and moving. The ancient texts are rendered here in a language marked by lucidity and dignity as befits the beauty of the original. They are presented in a framework which serves to connect the canonical texts through historical notes and other information. The inclusion of episodic and anecdotal meterials gives life to the narration, and there is also a chapter on the Buddha's doctrine that is highly illuminating and has a distinct flavour of its own. This is a book that can inform and inspire. Bhikkhu Nyanamoli (Osbert Moore) was born in England in 1905 and graduated from Exeter College, Oxford. In 1948 he came to Sri Lanka, where the following year he was accepted into the Sangha at the Island Hermitage near Dodanduwa. He spent almost his entire monk's life of 11 years in the quietude of the Hermitage. In 1960 on one of his rare outings, he suddenly passed away due to heart failure. During his life in Sangha, Ven. Nyanamoli translated into lucid English some of the most difficult texts of Theravada Buddhism. His works 'The Path OF Purification' (Visuddhimagga) and 'Mindfulness OF Breathing' are also published by the BPS